Trends in YA: Girls in Sports

I love watching trends in YA. The Girls in Sports trend has been around for awhile-there's always been some books out there featuring female athletes. But it seems like this year there are even more girls in sports novels being released-or maybe I'm just noticing them more.

After Catherine Gilbert Murdock's Dairy Queen Series, Miranda Kenneally is becoming my go-to author for books that feature female athletes. She's also gaining quite a fan base with the teens at my library. Ms. Kenneally has written previous novels that feature girls playing sports and her upcoming novel, out in December, features a girl  training to become a jockey:

Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally

Girls and horses go together! This novel features a girl who wants to become a Catch Rider (show rider) and works training horses:

Catch Rider by Jennifer H. Lyne

After horses, tennis seems to be a popular sport this year:

The Academy: Game On by Monica Seles 

(This one not only has tennis but is set at a sports academy, which features characters playing a variety of sports)

Game. Set. Match. by Jennifer Iacopelli (if a tennis only academy is what you want)

And what I think is the coolest girl in sports premise of the year:

Hooked by Liz Fichera

About a girl who joins the school golf team.

 

Also, Simone Elkeles has a new book coming this Fall called Wild Cards (the cover to be revealed next week! I'll have a peice to tease next Wednesday!) It also features girls playing sports:

 

After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek's counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else's family drama. Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek-someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

Have you seen any other female athletes in novels this year? What do you think of this trend?